


forward to new address

by birdlord5000



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Epistolary, F/F, pre-autumn in hieron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-08
Updated: 2019-07-08
Packaged: 2020-06-24 10:02:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19721425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdlord5000/pseuds/birdlord5000
Summary: Collected letters between Golden Lance members Victoria Solomon and Gloria Lake





	forward to new address

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be for femslash week oh well ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

Victoria,

I know you’ve heard me say it a hundred times, but I hate doing business in Rosemerrow. The streets and buildings change so fast that you could walk into a shop, buy one thing, and walk out to a different town entirely. The people, though, the people are stagnant. You can hardly have a conversation here without someone talking about how we should all go back to the old days because things were better then. I'm barely 200, but I've lived long enough to know that the past that they hold so sacred was nothing like what they imagine it to be, and it frustrates me to no end that I can't tell them that, especially when the baker spends so much time talking about the traditional braiding method that she used on the loaf that she forgets to give me my bread. The past seeps into their emotions so much that trying to feed here feels like drinking out of a muddy puddle.

I can't wait to get back to the City of First Light, even though I know you won't be back for another month after I return. At least that city knows how to let loose. There will be a party that covers half of Helianthus within a week of my arrival, mark my words. Even when there’s nothing to celebrate, they’ll manage to invent some kind of holiday and use that as an excuse to have fun. I just wish that they same could be said for the cities up north.

I don't have much to report otherwise. I made sure that the old treaties are still intact and took note of some people to keep an eye on, but for better or for worse, there's not much to do in the justice department. This city is quick to judge and quick to punish so that they can get on with their lives. They don't leave many things hanging for us to solve.

I'm not sure when this letter will reach you, given how quickly you're moving, but best of luck if you haven't already finished your task. You can tell me all about it when I see you again.

Love,

Gloria

-

My Gloria,

You were born near the eastern shores of Hieron, were you not? I know you moved to the City of First Light as a child, but if you told me the name of the town you lived in first, then I have forgotten it, and I apologize for that. 

I am north of the place where you were born, but everywhere I have been in the east is the same. The land here has been sewn together so many times by the Grand Tour, but each time they leave, the Heat and the Dark come to rip it apart again. The people I've spoken to have taken to calling this place the Shredded Steppe. It's a fitting name. The roads here are so broken that the horse does not know where to place his hoof. The towns that those roads would have connected have uprooted and become migratory. If they have not yet joined up with the Grand Tour, then they flee from it. Would you rather be here than in the Rosemerrow that you hate so much?

My quarry thinks that he can use these scattered lands as a hiding place, but he has never had to run from someone like me before. I am catching up, and when he can no longer escape, I will finish my task and return home. I miss the feeling of you in my arms. I know that compared to the hundreds of years that we will live, a few months is next to nothing, but it always seems long when I'm not with you.

Yours,

Victoria

-

Victoria,

If there's one thing you can say about Kanton, it's that the people there know the name Claret Holiday. Or at least, the people from the Kanton of this strata know her name. I couldn’t tell you what Wharvers from the lower stratas and laminas know. The people on this level, though, they respect the Golden Lance. They might also fear us, but fear can be a useful tool, you and I both know that.

My parents brought my siblings and I to the City of First Light because they were afraid. We lived close to the sea, and although I was young when we left, I can still remember the darkness on the horizon, a void of black and purple so dark that it made spots of color swim in your eyes. I don’t think I ever told you the name of the town we left, but then, I don’t think that it’s still there.

Anyway, because the people here know about the Golden Lance, I’ve been able to get good accommodations, and the local branch of the Church of Samothes has given me access to their extensive records of members of the Church. It’s not information that I need at the moment, but I’m trying to take notes in case it becomes useful later. I’ve already stayed longer than I intended, and at this rate you might beat me home! Don't worry though, I'll never keep you waiting.

Love,

Gloria

-

My Gloria,

Justice has been done. I am on my way back home.

Do you ever think about how gruesome it is that we take such satisfaction in our work? That at the end of a chase pulling that trigger is the most satisfying thing in the world? When I finally cornered my quarry in the alleys of a town that had long since been abandoned, I was almost overcome by the surge of righteous energy that drove me.

I suppose it could be worse- after all, we could be like the vampires in tall tales, killing just to eat and unable to walk in the sun. Still, I sometimes wonder what people would think if they knew everything about us. 

If you're still in Kanton, could you try digging up some information on the southern Exarch? I can't for the life of me remember her name; I know that the northern one is called Alyosha, but the southern one I've never met, and I don't hear as much about her. I ask because the suspect said that his deeds were the will of Samothes. He might have just been trying to justify his actions, but if he was telling the truth, then we need to investigate further. The town where he lived does not have a church, so it is likely that an exarch would have been his introduction to Samothes’s teachings.

My journey shouldn’t take long, I'll see you soon.

Yours, always,

Victoria

-

Victoria,

I had already departed Kanton when I got your letter, but my notes are still with me. The southern exarch’s name is Braeven. She’s been an exarch for a number of years, but there weren’t many records of the work that she’s done for the church. What there were records of was representatives from the church in lower strata coming up here to teach lessons from their church. Could it be that they are the ones who are encouraging nihilism and destruction? We should look into this further. I’ve been home for two days, but I started packing my bags again when I got your letter. As soon as you get back we can head out to Kanton together and investigate. No rest for the Golden Lance, right? One of these days things will be quiet for long enough that I can take you out to that new cafe that opened up in Violet Parish, the one that serves that lemon tea that people keep talking about. In the meantime, get home safely.

Love, 

Gloria

-

Gloria-

I will be back soon. The search for justice never ceases.

-Victoria


End file.
